A shelter-in-place order has been lifted in New Jersey hours after a man suspected of killing someone with a “pointed object” and starting a fire was taken into custody.
Police descended on a block in Kearny late Saturday for a report of an injured man near Kearny Avenue and Johnston Avenue. Authorities located the man but his injuries proved fatal, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office said.
A person of interest in the man’s death was quickly tracked to a home on Kearny Avenue, where the suspect barricaded himself for most of the night.
In the middle of the night, as negotiations were ongoing, prosecutors said a fire started at the home where the person was barricaded. The Red Cross said at least four homes had to be evacuated.
“The investigation continued through Sunday afternoon after the fire was extinguished, and the male exited the home armed with knives. He was taken into custody shortly thereafter,” a statement from the prosecutor’s office said.
Police in Kearny said the shelter-in-place advisory had been lifted, but still encouraged residents to avoid the area as police and fire crews worked the scene.